The Truth Can Hurt, But Also Heal
by XenoLongbottom
Summary: For seventeen years, Aaron Pace has grown up hearing the story of how his parents had survived a plane crash together and had fallen in love, with him and his little sister being the outcome of their marriage. But now that he needs his birth certificate, his parents have to tell him the truth about his geneology. AU becasue Charlie survived the Looking Glass. Enjoy and Review.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A Passport to Honesty**

It was a bright sunny day in Sydney, Australia when a 2016 Sedan pulled up to the curb of the downtown mall.

"Got everything you need sweetheart?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah Dad," replied Grace pushing open the back door.

"Got your cell phone, your wallet?"

"Yeah Dad."

"And you've got your…"

"Yes Dad, I've got everything," his daughter interrupted.

"Alright sweetheart. Now Aaron is going to pick you up at eight. Okay?"

"Okay Dad," she replied while kissing her father through the window.

"Love you sweetheart, and no talking to any boys!" Charlie shouted as she walked away.

She simply waved her hand behind her as a way of saying she heard.

As Charlie closed the window, his son muttered from the passenger seat, "Dad, you know, she's still going to talk to…"

"I know Aaron," Charlie sighed as he pulled away from the curb. "But a father can only try."

As they traveled down the highway, Charlie turned up the radio to find Geronimo Jackson playing. His fingers tapped to the beat of "Dharma Lady" on the steering wheel as Aaron was trying to focus on reading in the car. Seeing as the family of four only had one car, they had to carpool a lot, and one example of this was seen with Charlie having to pick his son up from work.

Five miles down, Aaron looked up from _The Two Towers_ and turned down the radio. Charlie looked up at him (seeing as his son was now five inches taller than him). "What's wrong Turnip Head? Something happen in your book?"

Aaron smiled at the old nickname. "No, it's not that, even though Merry and Pippin did just meet a gigantic talking tree. It's just… I've got to tell you something."

"Sure son, what is it?" Charlie started to get worried, even though he knew he shouldn't. It was probably something about school, or the band, or Ji Yeon. Most definitely nothing to worry about.

"Well, me and the guys, we were thinking of taking a trip to Berlin."

Charlie sighed. He knew it was something simple like that. "Sounds great, what for? The band get a gig?" he inquired.

"Well, yeah," Aaron replied. "We have a couple of gigs at a few pubs, but more important is that there's a University there that's worth looking at. And I've been practicing my German and everything. What do you think Dad?"

"Sounds great Aaron. When were you thinking of heading out?"

"We thought during vacation. Probably January."

"Wow, sounds like you'll have a great time. Of course we'll have to talk to your mother about this. But, Berlin's a great city. Your uncle Liam and I went there one time, and there was this pub with this curry sausage, and…"

"Dad, is this another band story?" Aaron asked, slightly bemused.

"What? I thought you liked my band stories."

"Well… there not my favorite," Aaron smiled. And Charlie smiled as well, which made the skin around his eyes crinkle. It was a running joke between the two of them of Aaron's annoyance of the band stories, and Charlie didn't mind. Aaron's band always came second to school, which was probably best. Charlie had been down the road of music first, and he wouldn't have recommended it to Aaron.

They soon drove into the driveway of their three-bedroom home in the suburbs of Sydney. It wasn't much, but it was their home, and they loved every inch of it.

"Honey, we're home," is what Charlie cried out into the house as he opened the door for both Aaron and him.

Charlie found Claire in the kitchen, loading dishes into the dishwasher. "Afternoon, love," he said kissing her on the cheek.

"Hey Charlie. Grace got to the mall okay?"

"Yep, pretty sure she'll have a great time." He leaned up against the breakfast table and grabbed an apple when Aaron walked into the room.

"Hey Mum?" he asked quietly.

"Yes sweetheart?"

Aaron then told Claire about his plans to go to Berlin and about the college (which made Claire happy), and the band, and how he'd pay for all of it out of his own pocket. "I just need my birth certificate," he finished with.

Charlie stopped mid-bite of his apple and Claire nearly dropped the plate she was holding. "Why would you need that sweetie?" Claire said with the steadiest voice she could manage."

"Well, I need to get my passport renewed since I haven't renewed it in five years."

Charlie looked at him funny, trying to do the math. "No way Aaron, we got your passport renewed… when you were fourteen, thirteen at the youngest."

"Dad, I was twelve, it was five years ago. I need my passport renewed."

"Alright Aaron, we'll go get your passport renewed, and then we'll…"

"Um… here's the ting," Aaron interrupted his mother, "I'm seventeen now, so I can go and get my passport without parental permission. So if you could just give me my birth certificate, I'll head out tomorrow to the post office and…"

"Oh, but we don't have your birth certificate," Charlie put in rather quickly.

"What do you mean?" Aaron asked. "How could you lose my birth certificate?"

Claire stared at Charlie, wide-eyed, not really sure what to do. Finally, she said, "Well, I guess it's just gotten lost amid all the files up in the attic. But I'm sure we'll find it. We'll find it for you sweetheart, don't worry."

"Okay Mum, thanks." He then leaned down to kiss his mum on the cheek, right before looking at the clock. "Wow. It's two fifty-five. I promised Ji Yeon I would skype her at three. If you need me, I'll be in my room." He then left his two parents alone in the kitchen.

As soon as they heard the bedroom door close upstairs, Claire whispered urgently to Charlie, "What the heck are we going to do?"

Charlie sighed. He was thinking the same thing himself. "Well, we knew he'd have to find out eventually."

"I know," Claire said, putting her hands up to her face. "But I didn't expect to happen so soon. We should've told him when he was younger. Oh gosh, I've done to him what my mother did to me. Oh no, this can't be happening. I'm a horrible mother." Tears were starting to form underneath her eyes, and Charlie quickly came over to wipe them away.

"Claire, don't worry. When he finds out about his real father, he won't be upset at you. I'll have to worry about him being upset at me. I mean, at least you didn't have a face that connected with the word 'dad'. He's thought I've been his father this whole time. Claire, we'll figure this out okay," he then kissed her forehead just to try and prove it.

Claire nodded, and wrapped her arms around him. "We'll tell him tomorrow then, right?"

"Most definitely," Charlie replied. "We'll give all of us one more day."


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey everyone! Thanks for following this story! You are all amazing!_

**Chapter 2: The Truth is Out**

The next day, Aaron had a short shift at the shoe store, so he was allowed to drive the car to and from. Claire was sitting next to Charlie on the couch in the living room when Aaron came home. "Hey Mum, hey Dad. Where's Grace?" her son asked as he walked in and looked around the proximity.

"She's at a friend's house," Charlie answered.

"Did you guys find my birth certificate today?" Aaron inquired.

Claire took a deep breath. 'Aaron, sweetie, we have to tell you something. It's about your birth certificate."

Aaron sat down in the chair across from the couch. 'It's fine if you didn't find it. I'll just go to the hall of records tomorrow and see if there's a copy in there."

Claire laughed shakily. Her palms were sweating. They always did that when she was nervous. But she felt Charlie's presence next to her, which made her feel stronger, more confident. 'No, sweetheart, it's not that, it's…"

But Charlie stopped her mid-sentence, and asked Aaron, "Do you remember the story of how your mum and I first met?"

"Of course Dad. You and Mum were in a plane crash together and were trapped on a deserted island. After three months on the island, you got Father Eko to marry you, and then Mum got pregnant with me, and three years later, you guys had a real ceremony."

Claire felt Charlie wrap his arm around her as Aaron told the fable he had grown up on. It was the best thing they could come up with when he asked. Her face went red with shame, seeing as she had lied to her son for the past seventeen years.

"Well, we were on a deserted island, and that's how we met, but…" Charlie took a deep breath before continuing. Claire could feel him shake as she sat next to him. Their perfect family was going to be over in seconds. "Aaron, when I first met your mother, she was eight months pregnant… with you."

This took a second to sink into Aaron's head. Claire could see the gears turning in his head as he did the math. The frustration, surprise, confusion, and sadness on Aaron's face flashed by so fast that Claire could hardly tell one feeling from the other. Finally, Aaron shook his head and laughed. "That's a good one Dad. You know, that's really not something to joke about. I mean…" But then Aaron stopped at his father's still serious face. "Wait, you're not kidding are you?"

Charlie shook his head. He could hardly even look at his son. Finally, Claire broke the uncomfortable silence by saying, "Aaron, we want you to know, before you jump to conclusions, that Charlie in my mind really is your father. Because parenting isn't about blood, it's about love. You understand that, don't you?"

Aaron didn't even seem to hear his mother's voice. He was still staring at Charlie. He was unsure what to do. Should he scream, cry, laugh, or all three? Finally, he decided on steadily whispering, "What's his name?"

"Aaron, I…" Claire began."

"What's his name?' Aaron repeated, the fury beginning to come into his voice.

Claire then watched as Charlie pulled out the manila envelope, and took out the content of it: the birth certificate. He silently handed it to his son. Aaron, slowly reached for it, now rethinking whether or not if he wanted to know. But before he realized it, the document was already in his hands, and he was reading it. "Aaron Littleton, Born: November 1, 2004, Mother: Claire Littleton, Father: Thomas Boothe." Aaron gulped. "Wait, so my real last name is Littleton?"

"No sweetie, we changed that after your father and I got married. You are officially Aaron Pace."

Aaron was speechless. And Charlie hadn't spoken since he had given up the news. Finally, Aaron put down the certificate, and whispered, "What happened?"

Claire sighed. She really didn't want to relive this. But he had to know. "Well, he and I had been going out for two years, and when I became pregnant, I didn't know what to do. He told me we could do it, and that he'd always be there for me, and we'd make it through. But then, the months went by, and money began slip in between our fingers, and he got cold feet. Told me he felt as if he was losing his freedom. So he left. Left me all alone, with only enough money to get me by for a few months. I was… I was going to put you up for adoption, and I found this family in L.A. who would take you. That's why I was on that plane. That's how I met your dad." She smiled for a split second, remembering the days of the beach, of first class seats as beds, of good friends, and of extra smooth peanut butter. She then began to cry, remembering the time before that. It wasn't fair, yet it's what happened. She couldn't change that.

She had nearly forgotten that both Charlie and Aaron were there until Charlie put both of her arms and around her and kissed her. Kissed her like he did that very first time. Soft and quick, yet meaningful. "It's okay Claire. It's okay."

Aaron was still sitting there, still in shock at seeing his mother sobbing in front of him. But then the shock turned to anger. "What the bloody heck are you doing?" he screamed standing up. "What are you doing, acting so upset? I'm the one who should be upset! I'm seventeen years old, and now you're telling me who my real bloody father is? I can't believe you! Either of you!"

Charlie quickly got up from his seat, for one moment letting go of Claire, who was now wiping her tears. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? If you haven't noticed your own mother is crying right now? I know this is a tough for you. But it's tough for us too, especially her."

"I don't have to listen to you!" Aaron shrieked, looking down Charlie. Aaron was used to being taller than Charlie, but now the difference had seemed to have increased severely. "YOU'RE NOT EVEN MY REAL FATHER!"

With that, Aaron grabbed his coat from the rack, the keys from the table next to the door, and ran out to the car.

Claire ran out after him. New tears began to come from her eyes. She had never seen Charlie and Aaron fighting like that. It had never been in either of them, even now that Aaron was so close to being an adult. "Aaron…" she said, following her son out the door. "Come back inside sweetheart. Please come back inside. We can talk about this." But he just continued to walk. "Aaron…" she repeated, but more loudly. "Aaron…" she began to shout as he got into the car. Then the car began to reverse out of the driveway and turned onto the road. "AARON!" she screamed behind the car that was now halfway down the road. She was gasping for breath after every screech of her son's name. She hadn't screamed this loudly since she had been on the island, but the fear of losing her family had come back to her. What if Aaron never came back? What if she was never going to see him again? What if..? What if..? Then she stopped herself form thinking any more thoughts, and began to work on steadying her breath and wiping her tears before walking inside.

When she walked back into the house, Claire found Charlie where she and Aaron had left him. He was still breathing heavily, his dirty-blond-gray hair was disheveled, and his blue eyes were filled with anger and sorrow. He seemed so helpless at that moment, so alone. She was so used to Charlie being the one to comfort her; Charlie being the one to take control of an out-of-hand situation; and Charlie being the one who would make things better. Now it was her turn. Charlie needed to be taken care of now. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, and then guided him back to the couch. She then left him to make him a cup of tea. Once she had set it down on the table and rewrapped her arms around him, she kissed him on his cheek. "Don't worry Charlie, dear, he'll come back. He's just a little upset."

Charlie nodded, but besides that made no other notion that he understood. They stayed like then for the rest of the day, Claire comforting Charlie, and Charlie worrying about everything.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you all for reading and reviewing! You are all beautiful human beings with excellent taste. I hope you enjoy this final installment. Thank you. :)_

**Chapter 3: The Whole Truth, and Nothing But**

Now the same 2016 Sedan was pulling up to an unknown curb. The curb of Thomas Boothe. Aaron had found out about his biological father's location online, and he took a deep breath before getting out of the car. He went up and down the rows, looking for the correct place. And when he found it, he was quite surprised to see another person standing in front of that place. She appeared to be about the age of his mother, yet she was the complete opposite. Her skin was an olive tone, her hair dark brown, and her eyes were also dark brown, nearly black. Whether they looked so dark because it was natural or because of the scene that they beheld, Aaron did not know.

The tombstone was granite. It listed the name, "Thomas Boothe" with the birth and death date. The death date set for exactly four months ago.

When Aaron had finally made his way to the tombstone, the woman noticed him, and said in an American accent, "Did you know my husband?"

Aaron looked at her, rather surprised. But then he remembered that lives actually moved on beyond him. It might sound selfish, but it is funny to think about really. Aaron didn't know what to say, until finally the words seemed to slip out, "I did not know him, but he was my father."

For a second she stared at him, half in shock and half in disbelief. She looked at him for a long time in concentration, and she looked as if she was going to say something against that comment. But Aaron quickly stopped her mid-breath, and handed her the gently folded piece of paper. He felt it would be best to bring it here, the only attachment he would ever have to his biological father. When her eyes fell on the writing of birth certificate, they grew even darker. She then nearly thrusted the paper back into his hands, and she turned to the grave again. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she whispered, almost to herself, "Fourteen years."

"Excuse me?" Aaron muttered, and he nearly shocked himself with even speaking.

"Fourteen years I was married to Thomas…and he never told me."

Aaron suddenly noticed a tear stream down her cheek. He quickly decided to cheer her up, even though his presence itself was probably causing the pain. "Don't worry," he told her, letting out a fail of a laugh. "My parents just told me two months ago."

She then looked up at him, "Parents? So your mother remarried?"

"Oh no, my mum and my father never got married. When she was four months in, they…broke up." He didn't want to ruin the vision this woman had of her husband any further with the truth. "But yeah, my mum married. I've known him as my dad all my life. He taught me how to play the guitar, took me to football games…" he then remembered Charlie. He hadn't been talking to his dad since the big fight. Communication between the two could only be found through grunts of recognition while passing in the hallway at home or basic table manners for Claire's sake. How could he have been so cruel? It wasn't his dad's fault that they weren't biologically father and son. His mother had been right; parenthood wasn't about blood, it was about love.

While he was in the middle of these thoughts however, he remembered that Mrs. Boothe was still there, so he decided to continue the conversation. "I have a younger sister too, her name's Gracelyn, but we all just call her Grace. She's annoying as heck sometimes, but she's brilliant." Then a new thought occurred to him. He looked down at Mrs. Boothe, unsure if this question was appropriate. "Umm… do I have any… any umm..?"

"We have two daughters; Emily who is ten, and Sophia who is six. They're good girls, but they haven't been the same these past four months." The sadness in her voice increased at these last words, and Aaron suddenly remembered what he was in the presence of.

"How did he die?" he couldn't help asking. She looked away, as if it hurt to look at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's fine. It's fine, dear. It's just, ever since that junkie hit into the side of his car, I haven't been the same either. I don't even know why I come here sometimes. Usually, I come at such random times. Like, today, I'm supposed to picking the girls up from soccer, I mean football, (sorry I'm a Yank), and I find myself driving past here and I said to myself, 'hey, maybe I should stop by'. But then it just tortures me to be here. I don't know why I do this to myself." She seemed to be treating Aaron with a bit more affection now.

But then a revelation occurred to the teenager. Four months ago, what was he doing four months ago? Then he remembered. Ji Yeon had been checking out a university in Sydney. And of her three day trip, she had spent one day only with Aaron. They went from the park, to the cinema, to dinner. Aaron grinned at the memory of his beautiful Korean, but then he realized it was now ruined by the idea of who died that day. It seemed so strange to him; the idea of a man he had to thank for his existence had died, and he didn't even know it.

Finally, without realizing what he was doing, he drew his arm around Mrs. Boothe, and let her land some tears onto his shoulder. They stood like this, for a long while, Aaron staring at the grave, cold as stone, and Mrs. Boothe silently letting tears roll down her cheeks.

After what seemed like forever, Mrs. Boothe pulled away from Aaron, and muttered, "The girls will be waiting for me to pick them up from soccer. Thank you Aaron." That last sentence seemed difficult for her to say, as if they had to push their way up her throat.

He didn't really know what to say. She had before been so cold towards him, and now she seemed to have warmed up a bit. "And thank you Mrs. Boothe," he replied.

She smiled as warmly as she could, and only found the energy to say, "Nina."

Aaron grinned back, and then watched her go from the grave stone, silently, hands in her pockets, until she had driven away in her car. That was the last time he had ever seen or heard from Nina Boothe. She never went searching for him and he never went searching for her, and Aaron was fine with that, he had decided right there and then. He didn't need to be a part of the Boothe family. He had his own, and he could hardly handle that one. And as these thoughts were going through his head, he stood there a bit longer, looked at the tombstone one last time, and turned towards his own car, ready to return to the Pace family.

**THE END**


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